01 June, 2021

We all know the term “current documentation” is an oxymoron, right?  As soon as the words hit paper, something changes. Then processes become outdated.

Assess the current state of documentation
Some businesses – especially those who are federally regulated – have very good business process documentation. They face substantial costs for not following written business processes.
Companies who aren’t regulated (or who are not ISO 9000 or ISO 9001 certified), tend to have much less rigorous business processes documentation.
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Why does documentation matter?
Documentation is crucial to the profitability of a business. New employees become functional and efficient in a minimum amount of time.
Document processes from start to finish, regardless of number of steps. Organize processes in swim lanes to identify work that occurs in parallel.
Documentation may include:Decision points
Data collected along the way
Data repositories used
Printed output produced
Initial process assumptions made
It is both tempting and easy to assume that because current processes are working well, no documentation is needed.

The issue is: things change.

People move on.
There is new equipment.
There may be new products.
And the set of measures, decision points, and data can all change with time.
Years down the road, no one will know why a process operates the way it does. The standard refrain we hear is: that’s how we’ve always done it.

A well-defined and current business process allows you to know the current state and all associated background info. Also, if you are planning to implement a new ERP, pre-defined business processes pay huge dividends! These include:

Reduced implementation time
Reduced implementation cost and effort
Opportunity to make improvements based on functionality within the new ERP
At ICG, we’re ready to help you create and improve upon current business processes. We have experience working with a multitude of documentation software providers. We can recommend and onboard your business to the right platform. Contact us to learn more.